Marlene Lucas, clinical social worker with over 40 years of experience, speaks to CJ and Debbie Ray about strategies to cope in the aftermath of the theater shooting.

Communities go through stages of loss when experiencing a tragedy like the shooting at the Grand Theater.

Shock - How can this happen? This type of thing doesn't happen here

Anger - How did this happen? What is the world coming to? Why don't we have a better plan? We sometimes repress our anger, which isn't always a good thing.

Bargaining - If only we had done this or that, things might be different.

Depressed - How are we going to come out of this

Acceptance - It doesn't mean what what happened was okay, but the past does not impact life changes, and seeking a new normal, as the old normal can't be obtained again. We will address the new normal and find ways to make sure it stays that way.

Cry your tears, feel your feelings, they are the great healers. When you're crying you know you're coming from an authentic part of yourself. We need to be able to speak the truth and find the words to say what happened. To be able to truthfully express our emotions is vital for us to heal and recover individually as well as in our community.

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